Tortured Souls
by TanaBear
Summary: Another one of those past life stories. Except... with a plot! Rated M for some language and steamy goodness! And some violent parts. Maybe.
1. Chapter 1

A YuGiOh story! No EFFING way!  
Yup! And an Anzu/Atemu at that! Oh jeeze... double KO.

Anyway! I figured I'd write this one because... well... good YGO stories are lacking. And rarer still are Yami/Atemu and Tea/Anzu ones. And this was one of my most treasured childhood shows. And I love Ancient Egypt. So, really. It had to be done.

It'll be a long one, so bear with me please! you wont be dissapointed! Hopefully...

And I better get this outta the way too: I don't own Yugioh. Not one bit.

**Prologue**

It was dark in this place. Too dark. Like a nightmarish fiend could appear out of the shadows and pull you in, never letting go.

It felt like death here. In fact, that feeling isn't far off.

This indeed was a place for death; a tomb. A very sacred tomb. One the gods themselves would hesitate to enter.

Even if light could reach here, it would not matter. It would be like a cloud, this dark. It covers everything. Even souls that dared to enter.

And in the midst of this overwhelming darkness, something stirred. Yes. It was once time again to awaken.

'_Come shadow creatures.' _A whisper of mixed voices cried out, '_Let us bring misery and destruction.'_ There were screams and wails of sorrow as the shadows took a form. '_Soon, you will be reunited with your opposite,'_ Then, a light broke through the dark. An ominous blue and red glow lit up a small area. '_And I'll have my revenge, oh pyramid of light._'

The shadow that took a shape dissolved and flew at the wall, then through it. It had left this place.

In the back of the tomb another form took shape, though it wasn't made of shadow, but of light. A soft one. It wasn't a soul, it wasn't anything. Just a form.

It weeped, for it seemed to know what the awakening of the shadow meant. And then it dissipated back into nothing. Back into the tomb.

* * *

**Chapter 1**

It had been two years since it had all ended. Two very _long_ years. But good ones. There was no trouble anymore, well unless you call highschool trouble. But the gang was almost done. They were graduating this year and after that... well who knows?

Yugi was still the reining duel king, though taller, but him and Kaiba were pretty evenly matched. After the final battle, Yugi had gained the confidence he needed to keep going.

Tea had kept up with her dancing. Yugi had to admit she was really good. She even applied for scholarships in the U.S, though she has yet to hear back from them.  
She was currently on Vacation there, in the States, checking out some of the schools, and she promised to bring back presents!

Joey and Tristan were pretty much still the same. Joey had gotten better at duel monsters, he had practiced quite a bit. Yugi had told him on more than one occasion that he could probably beat him if he kept it up. But he was usually pretty busy, nowadays, trying to fend off Tristan and Duke from getting near his little sister.

No one had heard much from Kaiba. Last anyone heard, he was busy trying to build his theme park along with Mokuba.

Bakura had been gone ever since the final battle. He left a note with Yugi only stating that he felt horrible for letting all of this happen to them. Yugi shook his head. Poor Bakura. No one had blamed him. They all knew it wasn't his fault. None of it had. It was the evil spirit that was responsible, and with that gone they all could have been really great friends.

But, other than that, everything was good. Normal. You know, the way it should be. No evil monsters trying to kill you, no evil tyrants trying to take over the world...

Ah. Normalcy. It was nice.

"Hey, Yug!" Yugi slowly came back to reality. "What is it, Joey?" A grin appeared on the blonds face. "Whaddya say about goin' to 'da arcade? You know, for old times sake." "Joey, we were there last week." Tristan broke his bubble. "Whatever! Point is, I wanna go. What about you two?" Yugi laughed. "Yeah, sure. Sounds like fun." Tristan sighed. "Well, if you two are going..." Joey slung an arm around his shoulder, "That's 'da spirit!" Tristan brought his cellphone out of his pocket and started to text. "I guess I'll just cancel my date with Serenity..." Joey's eyes narrowed and brought Tristan into a headlock. "What. Did. You. Just. Say?" Yugi stepped back out of the way. He knew Tristan was joking. He knew that if he had a real date, he would have gone rather than stay with them.

"Guys calm down. We'd better hurry to the arcade before it gets busy." The two of them separated. One was choking, the other satisfyed. "You're right. I call the pinball machine!" Tristan bolted off. "Not if I get 'der first!" Joey raced after him. Yugi sweat-dropped. "Wait! hold on guys! Don't leave me behind!"

* * *

Ugh. He felt so groggy and stiff, like he had been sleeping for far too long. And his head hurt too. Really bad. Not to mention it smelled old and stuffy. If he had known this was going to happen he would have kept his mouth shut. So, the next time someone asks him if he wants to go _back_ he's going to say no. Flat out **no**. But it was too late now, he supposed. If he was feeling pain, or feeling at _all_ for that matter, it meant he was alive. But where was he? And why couldn't he move? Oh... Crap. Bandages. Lots of bandages. Well, they were pretty old, right? They should probably just- Rip. Yup. His arms were free. The rest of him soon followed. When he had first opened his eyes they were dry and his vision blurry. He had to blink several times before they could see clearly. He looked around and then at himself. It appeared the gods didn't think clothing would be necessary. Figures. Regardless of his state of dress he'd gotten up and out of his sarcophagus. It felt really weird to be walking on legs that hadn't moved in over 3000 years, but the pushed that thought aside. He had to look for something. Something important. And then it appeared, but not where he expected. It appeared around his neck and slowly lowered until it rested on his belly, hanging by a sturdy rope. Ah. Much better.

He sat down where he stood, for his legs were weary, still not being used to walking around. And plus, the weight of the Millennium puzzle only added more stress. But he had no time for resting. He could do that when he got to where he had to go.

His hands wrapped around the puzzle and he shut his eyes. He had to concentrate. Hard. He would only be able to do this once. He had to get it right. It had to be somewhere he knew.

In his mind he pictured a small gaming shop. He focused on what a particular room looked like.

His brows furrowed. Almost...

And with a flash of light and a burst of air, he was gone.

Two security guards at the gates in the Valley of the Kings felt a chill go down their spines. "You too?" The other nodded. "Ya."


	2. Chapter 2

Okay, it's chapter 2, are you ready?  
Okay... it's not that exciting, but it's necessary. So just read.  
And I'm sorry if the part where Yugi and his Grandfather interact is a bit weird. I can't seem to copy their relationship in the series.  
It also might seem a bit rushed, and I'm sorry for that too. I'm not very good at this writing thing, am I?

OH WELL!

Enjoy.

* * *

**Chapter 2**

Ah… It had been a while since he had a good time like that. Especially with school and whatnot. He just needed to go out and have a bit of fun. Though, with Joey always around, it was hard not to be entertained.

Yugi laughed inwardly. Oh, how he loved his friends.

He slowly opened the game shop door. He had to be cautious. The last couple of days his grandfather had all but tackled the poor boy when he got back from school. It was something about 'inventory' and 'needing' help. Not that Yugi minded helping out, he would have done it without asking. But he wasn't helping. He was doing all of it… by _himself_.

So far, he'd managed to close the door without a sound and slowly tip-toed over to the staircase. He made it up a couple of steps when there was a creak. A very loud creak, or at least… it sounded loud to him.

"Yugi? Is that you?" He heard his grandfather call.

Yugi sighed, "Yes, Grandpa."

"Perfect timing!"

The older man made his way over to the staircase and then smiled up at the boy. "Could you come and help me out in the back? These shipments just keep coming in!"

He continued to look at his grandson, expectantly. Yugi automatically caved. He couldn't resist _that_ look when it was given.

"Brilliant! Today the boxes need to be moved to the front, and then…" Yugi watched the older man walk away as he continued talking to himself. Yugi sighed again as he walked back to the shop's front. He put his bag behind the counter and continued on his way to the back to help his grandfather.

"What boxes were you talking about, Grandpa?" He wished he didn't ask. His violet eyes almost popped out of his skull. "_All_ of these?" His grandfather smiled wickedly. "Yep! All of 'em."

Yugi couldn't get over the small tower of boxes in front of him. He just had to be kidding…

'Well,' he figured, 'might as well get this over with…'

"Well then, I'll leave you to it." Yugi could have sworn he heard the man snicker.

Yugi turned towards the boxes and was about to get started on the first stack when there was a loud bang. At first he thought he might have done something to cause it, but then he looked around and came to his senses. Nothing had fallen, nothing moved.

The two men made eye contact for a moment.

"That sounded like…"

"It came from your room, Yugi."

The teenager stopped what he was doing and left the room running. He needed to know what caused such a loud noise.

He ran up the stairs, two at a time, until he got to the top. He turned the corner and noticed there were loose papers, all looking like they had been _blown_ out of his room. In fact, some were still floating to the ground.

'What in the world-?' He turned into the only door on the left: his room. He peered in, a little anxious at first, but then that feeling turned into complete and utter shock when he realized that, no, he wasn't hallucinating. What he saw was real.

There was the Pharaoh; the spirit of the millennium puzzle, passed out on the floor, in all his naked glory.

* * *

Ah… It was good to be back.

In the airport a young woman with brunette hair, short pink skirt and a white halter top breathed in a sigh of relief. She was home.

This trip was the first time she had ever been on a plane, and the experience was a little weird. She still was a little confused as to where she was supposed to go after she got off the plane. Not that it was hard, she just followed everybody else. This led her to the luggage pick-up, where she patiently waited for her suitcase to show up.

So far she had no luck. She shook her head and frustration. So many suitcases look just like hers!

She sighed and groaned. Ugh! This was going to take all day!

All she wanted was to get back to her home and maybe rest on her sofa and nap. Her parents were bound to be working, so no one was home to disturb her. She'd probably wait and call her friends tomorrow. They would probably want to crash her nap, and that's not what she wanted. But maybe she would call Yugi, he'd understand, right?

Meanwhile, while Tea was in her own little world thinking, a stranger had walked up to her, noticing her distress.

"Uh… miss? Is something the matter?"

Tea's crystal blue eyes snapped to the young man in front of her. Damn, was he gorgeous!

His dirty-blond hair framed his tan face and almost covered his eyes. They made her a little uncomfortable, as they seemed to peer into her very soul.

"Er…" He seemed to fidget on his feet as the girl stared at him.

"Oh, I'm sorry!" She bowed her head in apology. "It's just… I can't seem to find my luggage and I'm really tired and just want to go home."

He smiled at her, "What does it look like? I'll help look for it."

Her eyes beamed. "Really? Oh thank you!" Tea stood up straight, realizing that she might get home faster with his help. Well, unless they had actually _lost_ her luggage, which would suck.

"Its plain black and it's got white trimming…" Tea watched as this stranger picked up a bag within five seconds and showed it to her. "Would this be it?"

Her jaw hit the floor. That just wasn't fair.

"Yes! It is! Oh this is embarrassing…" she scratched the back of her head in embarrassment.

"Haha. It's alright. Here," he said as he passed the suitcase to her, "at least it wasn't lost completely."

Tea smiled up at him. "I guess you're right."

She took the case and set it down beside her, "Hey, thank you so much! What's your name?"

"Oh, just call me Anubis. My real name is too crazy."

Tea thought for a moment. Anubis? Odd… The last one she met was a complete and utter psycho. This boy was the polar opposite. Then she caught a small twinkle from a jewel around the boy's neck. It looked kind of… creepy.

"Hey," she started while staring at the orb, "what's that around your neck?"

Anubis gave her a confused look, as if wondering what she was talking about, but he followed her gaze to the red orb around his neck.

"Oh, this thing? It's something my grandfather gave me before he passed away. It's nothing special, but it is to me, you know?"

Tea looked away from him for a moment. "I'm sorry..."

"Oh, that's alright." He smiled at her again. She had to admit, she liked his smile.

_Beep beep~_

Tea looked down to her watch. "Oh darn, it's late. Thank you so much, ah… Anubis! I have to get going, or the bus will leave." Tea turned and picked up her suitcase. She was grateful for his help. "See ya later!" She waved as she hurried off.

Anubis remained where he was, his bangs now covering his eyes. 'Yes little Tea, I will be seeing you later.'

And with that thought an evil and wicked smile replaced his kind one. A dark aura emanated from him. He had her right where he wanted her, and he had only started his little game.

* * *

So, how was it? It's okay if you didn't like it. I wont really mind... feedback is always nice, and I'll try to improve with tips and suggestions!


	3. Chapter 3

To who it may concern... I am so sorry! I've been really sick! I had to go to the hospital and everything!  
But I'm better now.  
And I know the chapter is a bit shorter than the first two but... I just needed to get it up!  
So here it is. Chapter 3.  
And I know its a bit boring, but don't give up on me just yet! It gets better! Promise!

* * *

The sun was just starting to set when Tea walked through the door to her house. She reached into her purse and rummaged around for her keys. When she finally found them she unlocked her door and pushed it open.

It was a small house, only a two bedroom home, but it was cozy. Her parents only stopped in every so often, so there was no need for anything bigger. Especially if it was only her

She plopped her belongings inside, just in front of the door, and took in a deep breath. Ah... It was good to be home.

She closed her door with her foot, and then took off her shoes.

She decided to go to the kitchen to make herself some tea.

She turned on her kettle and went to go and sit on her couch in the living area. She debated on watching tv or not, but ended up deciding that she would just have her tea and go to bed early. She was exhausted, after all.

It was only a couple of minutes when Tea caught herself starting to doze off. She would have done so if not for her screeching kettle. It was hard, but she left the comfort of her suede couch to go and pour her tea.

When she got back, she immediately started sipping the scalding beverage. She had missed her tea from home while overseas. The tea there just wasn't the same. Although, she had to admit the coffee over there was quite addicting. Not that she really liked the beverage much, but it gave her that extra push of energy when she needed it.

While she was sipping her tea she wondered if she should call her parents or not. She was tired so she would just call them in the morning. Yeah, that's right.

All of a sudden she got chills. They ran up and down her spine. Oh... she had a bad feeling... Almost like someone was going to call her... and interrupt her peaceful bliss...

Ring.

Speak of the freakin' devil.

She just glared at the phone on the desk. Maybe... if she didn't answer, they would leave her alone.

The phone rang two more times before it stopped. She just sipped her tea and waited. They didn't leave a message (or the little red light on the phone would blink), and they weren't calling her back. She decided it couldn't have been too important. It was probably just one of the guys calling to see how the trip went.

Normally it wouldn't be a huge issue, but right now she was grumpy and tired. Surely it could wait until tomorrow.

She rested her mug on the coffee table in front of her sofa when she was finished with it and lied down. It was only a few moments before she was out cold.

* * *

After the Atemu was under the covers of Yugi's bed a whole lot of questions went through the boys head. Two were more pressing than the others; Why?

Why did he come back? Why was he here? And why did he possess the Millennium Puzzle? As far as Yugi knew all of the items had been destroyed.

He would have to wait for answers, though. Who knows what his old friend went through to get here, so for now he'd just let the King rest.

Yugi went down stairs into the small kitchen where his grandfather was sipping on some tea.

"So, that's the spirit who resided in the Millennium Puzzle?" The old man asked.

Yugi only nodded.

"It's kind of strange, you know? He looks just like you."

Yugi had long gotten over that fact. After all, it was because of that fact they had looked so similar that enabled them to switch back and forth so easily, and without anyone noticing. Well, at least for the most part. He was pretty sure his friends could sometimes tell.

"What do you think he wants?" Yugi's grandpa spoke again.

The teenager just shook his head, "I have no idea."


	4. Chapter 4

Hehe... sorry about the lateness of this chapter. I have no excuse this time. I was just lazy. I'll try to be better from now on. Promise!  
It's longer than the last chapter, not by too much, but yeah. I'll try to make them longer, like you asked!  
So go read!

* * *

Yugi woke up to the sounds of footsteps on the second floor. He decided to sleep on the couch since there was another body occupying his bed. Speaking of which... Maybe that was him out and about?

Yugi yawned and groggily wiped the sleep from his eyes. As it turned out he didn't get much sleep last night. Thoughts and questions and fears were running through his overactive brain. So much so that he thought he would only be able to rest if he was dead.

But, anyway...

He finally decided to get up and check it out.

When he reached the stairs he could hear voices. Two very familliar voices. One belonging to his grandfather and the other...

"Pharaoh!" Yugi exclaimed when he reached his room. When the Egyptian caught sight of Yugi in the doorway his face lit up.

"Aibou."

The young king got up from his spot on Yugi's bed and walked over to his former host and hugged him. Yugi was surprised, but hugged him back.

It was a brief exchange, but a welcomed one, even if Atemu was still just in Yugi's boxers.

"How have things been, Aibou?" Atemu still used his nickname for Yugi. While they were together he was always the more innocent of the two; the light, while the pharaoh was the darker half. Yami.

"They've been good, I guess you could say. Still the reining champion of Duel Monsters," the boy said with pride. Atemu smiled.

"Yes, your grandfather was telling me about more recent tournaments."

Yugi eyed the older Mouto. Well, that was rude. It should have been himself telling the spirit of his accomplishments. But he supposed it wasn't really important. His Yami was the more pressing issue here.

"So, Pharaoh, why are you here? And for how long? No one's trying to take over the world again, is there?"

Atemu laughed lightly, "I certainly hope not."

After that, though, his face grew a bit more serious, "I'm not _exactly_ sure why I'm alive, or rather... I'm not exactly sure how to go about accomplishing my task-" "So you're back for some kind of purpose?" Yugi interrupted.

"In a way. I'm trying to find something I thought I already had."

Yugi didn't understand. Something he thought he already had? What in the world could it be?

Atemu could see confusion written on his others face.

"More of my memories," He simply stated, clearing that up for Yugi and his grandfather, who was just quietly listening to the exchange between the two.

It was still just so odd. It looked like identical twins talking, although one was much darker skinned than the other. He was still just so baffled by it all.

"I don't get it. I thought you got all of your memories back when we defeated Zork?"

Atemu didn't quite get it himself, so he was unsure of what to say.

"I had thought so as well, but at some point it was made clear to me that there were loopholes, parts that didn't quite fit together."

Yugi was trying to take all of this in. At the same time he was trying to figure out some kind of way to help his friend. It was impossible at this point; he had no idea where to start! He had to sit down...

"So that's why I am here. And as for how long... I have no idea. I was brought back spontaneously, so I suppose it's not impossible for me to go out the same way. That, or I might not get a chance to go back at all," Atemu said with a small tinge of disappointment. He'd been around for five thousand years already. Certainly there was only so much existing someone could take...

There was then a small creak from the bed as Yugi's grandpa got up from his seat. He supposed the two of them could use some privacy, though they seemed to be ignoring him for the most part anyhow...

"I'll go and get breakfast started then. I'll call you two when it's done," he announced and then exited the room. Yugi managed to get in a quick 'thank you' before he was out of earshot.

Yugi then sat down on the chair in front of his desk. He didn't realize his body was already tired for standing just a short time. His almost sleepless night was probably the cause.

Atemu shifted on the bed so that he was facing Yugi, and his hand rested on the gold pyramid that hung from his neck. Yugi then realized he hadn't asked about the puzzle yet.

'Hey, where'd you get the puzzle? I thought all the items were destroyed?"

The Pharaoh looked down at the object in question, "I don't think they really _can_ be destroyed," his thumb stroked the smooth surface of the eye that graced the front of the upside down pyramid, "since the item must accept you as it's user, you're bonded to it. Or your soul is anyway."

Yugi nodded. That made sense, seeing as Bakura always managed to 'find' the millennium ring, even after it had been thrown away numerous times. And then a chilling thought entered his head, "Wait- so are you the only one who's been brought back?"

Atemu seemed to know what Yugi was thinking, "I'm pretty sure."

Yugi held back a groan. 'Pretty sure' wasn't 'one hundred percent sure'.

The two of them talked a while longer, mostly about trivial things, well… as trivial as it could get with a 5000 year old spirit.

It was mostly Atemu asking questions, seeing as he was, before now, dead and therefore had nothing to really talk about.

He questioned about Yugi's dueling success and school. Eventually he had asked about his former friends. Which, until now had been completely forgotten by Yugi.

"That's right! They don't know yet!" The smaller of the two exclaimed, "Oh, will they be surprised!"

His Yami's eyes lit up. He had missed his friends. It would be nice to see how they were all doing.

Yugi walked across his room to a dresser. He opened a couple of drawers and pulled out clothes for the spirit.

"Here," he said, "get dressed and I'll call them. We can all have breakfast together."

Atemu nodded his head. It sounded good to him.

* * *

Tea groaned as she sat up on her couch, where she had fallen asleep last night. It wasn't the best sleeping arrangement, and now her back hurt. She twisted and arched her back but still no relief.

She looked at her clock, hanging just above her TV.  
9:30? Lovely; she had slept in.

She got up off her couch in a hurry and half-ran to the bathroom. She didn't know why she felt the need to rush, but she did it anyway. It must have just been one of those days…

She shook it off and turned the water on. It always took a little bit for the water to heat up, so she stripped down as she waited.

When she was done she gently put her hand in the path of the streaming water. It was the perfect temperature: steaming hot.  
She practically jumped in, in anticipation. It had been almost three days since she last bathed. It was way over due.

As the water rushed over her body her muscles relaxed. All the back pain was slowly melting away. Ah… this was heaven.

Her phone started to ring, just then, but she couldn't hear it. She was lost in her own little world.

* * *

Yugi made a face when Tea didn't pick up. She _was_ supposed to come back last night, right? Maybe her flight was delayed, or something. She almost never slept in, so what else could it be?  
He'd just call back later.

Atemu began to walk downstairs. After Yugi had called Joey, his grandfather announced that breakfast would be ready.

He made his way to the kitchen just as Yugi did.

The boy smiled to himself as he saw the Egyptian. Yep. He definitely approved of his choice of clothing on him.  
Black pants with a couple of belts and a white wife-beater.  
Ok, so it wasn't fancy, or anything, but whatever. It looked good on him just the same.  
And himself? Just his normal blue pants and white t-shirt, similar to his uniform, but more casual.

"So, who will be joining us this morning?" Yugi's grandpa inquired.  
"Just Joey and Tristan, Tea didn't pick up."

Yugi sat down at the small table and motioned for the Pharaoh to do the same.

"She didn't? Odd… didn't she get back last night?"

The boy took a piece of toast and nibbled on it. Then he turned back to the older man, "Yeah, I'm pretty sure. She probably just slept in or something."

Atemu was confused. Where did Tea go? And was it so odd that she didn't 'pick up'?

"Well, either way, it'll be nice to have the other two over," his grandfather laughed, "I haven't seen them in what? Two days?"  
Yugi rolled his eyes.

Yugi explained to his yami that Tea had gone on a trip and was supposed to arrive last night, since he looked a little lost, but he was interrupted by knocking from the door.

Yugi smiled and shot up from his seat to let his friends in.


	5. Chapter 5

Ah... So this is late.  
...

I've been asked to try and put more detail into this, and I'm doing my best! I don't know if it's working, but I tried.  
That and my computer died. I mean... BLUE SCREEN OF DEATH died. So now I'm using the main floor computer. Which has Vista. Ew. It doesn't even have microsoft word on it. Figures. So I'm 'word pad'-ing it. Fun.

Anyway, it's not the longest chapter ever, but it's something. So here.  
Don't hate me! 

* * *

Tea shivered as she stepped out of the warm confines of her shower, the cold air hitting her like ice. She hastily grabbed for her towel and wrapped it around her torso. It provided little relief. She sighed and then shook her head, water droplets falling to the tile floor below.

She already missed the warm water.

Tea stood up straight and put her hand on the doorknob; bracing herself for the even colder air out there. So, she flung the door open and walked briskly to her room just down the hall. In there she could dry off and put her clothes on.

Next time, she decided, she would have a bath. That way the water would cool down gradually, sparing her from this... torture.

* * *

"Hey Yugi," Tristan greeted first when he stepped into the Game Shop. Joey followed in after, but got right to the point.

"Ugh, what's the deal Yug? Why am I up before 10 on a _weekened_!"

Tristan shook his head. Yugi just laughed at him.

"You'll see. Just walk into the kitchen."

The two of them looked at him oddly. What could he possibly have in the kitchen? All Yugi said over the phone was that they needed to get over there immedietly. He didn't seem to be upset... so nothing _bad_ could have happened. Right?

"Well, whatever. Got anything ta' eat? I'm starving!"

Joey marched his way past Tristan and Yugi.

Tristan began to follow the blonde, but Yugi grabbed his arm. Tristan raised a brow quizically.

"Wait a sec," Yugi said, "I want to see what happens."

They didn't have to wait long, because Joey walked right into the kitchen, then after a moment, walked right back out. His mouth open and eyes wide.

"What da hell!"

Joey pointed a finger towards Yugi, then to the kitchen and then back at Yugi.

"What kinda crazy trick is this!"

Yugi chuckled. His poor friend was close to hysteria.

"What was it?" Tristan inquired.

As if on cue, Atemu walked into the front of the store. Joey, not knowing what to make of him just yet, backed away.

"I wasn't quite expecting _that_ kind of reaction."

The brunette of the group rubbed his eyes furiously. "No way... Pharaoh?"

Said Pharaoh smiled. "Hello, Tristan, Joey."

"How- why- What is going on?" Joey eyed the Egyptian man, making sure he wasn't some kind of ghost. Though he supposed even if he was, it wouldn't have been that strabge. Not after all the crazy things they have seen.

"Relax, Joey," Yugi said. "This is why I called. Grandpa is making breakfast. Atemu will explain while we're eating. Okay?"

Yugi walked away from Tristan and past Atemu, into the kitchen.

Joey and Tristan walked up to the Pharaoh, still shocked by it all. Though it was to be expected. This was a big event and would take some getting used to.

Atemu was a little taken aback when Joey put a hand on his shoulder, not expecting the contact.

"Good to have ya back, Pharaoh."

Atemu smiled. He didn't expect Joey to warm up to him so soon. Especially after his initial reaction.

"Ditto, man," Tristan joined in.

Afterwards, they made their way to Yugi.

* * *

"Ah. That's better."

Tea flopped onto her bed, dry and feeling refreshed. Oh how she missed her bed. During her stay in the states she had to sleep in hotels, and they just didn't cut it for her. The beds weren't stiff, per se... but they didn't compare to the softness of her own.

Smiling softly, she closed her eyes and breathed in deep. She took in the smell of her home. It was familliar; safe.

However, as she was thinking that she felt a shiver through her body. She wasn't cold, by any means, but she wrapped her arms around herself anyway.

It was an odd feeling and it went to her very core. She hasn't felt this way in a long time. Not since... Well, not since a couple of years ago, and she didn't know what to make of it.

She opened her eyes and decided to call Yugi. He had the most experience with this kind of thing. So, she got off her bed and made her way to the phone. But before she even grabbed for it, it rang.

Could it be Yugi? She picked it up.

"Hello?"


	6. Chapter 6

So, this is a notice. I am using their original last names. Why? Because I can. The uncut episodes do, so I figured I can do it too. Yay!  
And sorry about the long wait. Don't kill me please.

* * *

**Flashback**

She opened her eyes and decided to call Yugi. He had the most experience with this kind of thing. So, she got off her bed and made her way to the phone. But before she even grabbed for it, it rang.

Could it be Yugi? She picked it up.

"Hello?"

**End**

* * *

She heard a noise on the other end, not sure if this person had heard her or not, so she said again, "Hello?"

"Oh, ah... um... Is this the Mazaki residence?"

Tea's eyes widened considerably. Well, this certainly wasn't Yugi. Infact, it wasn't a voice she expected to hear ever again.  
"Anubis?"

There was a sigh of relief on the other end.

"Oh, thank goodness. I wasn't sure I had the right number."

A feeling of creepiness made it's way through Tea.  
How the heck did he get her number? And why would he even call?

Oh..! This was one of those horror movies, wasn't it? She was the victim and he was the crazy stalker who got her in the end? Ugh. Perfect.

"I hope you don't think I'm one of those weirdoes" - 'Too late', she thought - "But I'm new to this area and I have no idea what I'm doing or where I'm going. Can you maybe... help me out a bit? Nothing too crazy, just a quick tour, so that I get to know the place?"

Tea frowned and mentally sighed. If he _was_ really some kind of freak or pervert, he sure didn't sound like it. His voice sounded sincere... and she could never turn down someone who needed her help. Plus, he _was_ kind of cute.

It was decided.

"Sure thing, Anubis. Where are you staying?"

His voice perked up considerably when he gave the name of the hotel he was staying at. It was a nice one, too. At least from what Tea had heard.

"Alright. I can meet up with you whenever you like. It just might take me a bit to get there," she had told him. This hotel was about half an hour away from where she lived, right by the airport.

"That's no trouble. Is noon good?"

Tea's eyes glanced at her clock, her alarm clock to be exact. Noon was... soon.

"12 is fine. Or rather, 12:10? I have to get ready, you know."

She heard a chuckle from his end, "Of course. There's no rush."  
But even though he said that, she could still tell his voice was strained. Especially with the last part.

She wondered if indeed he needed to hurry a bit for some reason. She didn't ask, however; he was still too much of a stranger to be asking many questions.

"Alright then. I'll see you in a bit," she had said to him.

He, in turn, said goodbye then she hung up the phone.

With a small grunt she flopped back onto her bed.  
Well, this wasn't what she had in mind for today but she couldn't really complain. This was the first boy she would be going out with in a long time.

Her heart fluttered.

What if this was meant to be a... date?

Suddenly, she felt excited, ignoring the creepy feeling. She still didn't even know how he got her number.  
But now, she would actually have to put some effort in to her appearance. She really hasn't _tried_ to look pretty since... well, back _then_.

She got up off her bed with a little more energy than she had before. She then decided to call her parents quickly to let them know she got home safely and that she was going out for a bit.

Oh! She was going to have fun today!

* * *

- Somewhere in Egypt...

_Shatter_

In a small, old fashioned kitchen, the sound of a glass breaking as it hit the floor overwhelmed everything else. It was now deathly silent in the room, the people in it not knowing how to react.

The person who dropped the glass remained silent and was unmoving as a statue.

"Ishizu?"

In the middle of the room was a small round, wooden table. Only big enough for four people.  
At this small table there sat two men, both Ishizu's brothers in their own way. The one who spoke was the blond one, Marik, the brother who was related by blood.

The other man, Odion, their adopted brother, sat across from him, waiting for some kind of response from their sister.  
When there was none, they looked at each other, both confused and concerned.

Marik, at this point, got up and walked over to Ishizu and called her name again. Still nothing. He gave her a slight shake of her shoulders. It seemed to work; her unfocused eyes snapped to her younger brothers face.

"Are you alright, sister?"

The raven-haired woman shook her head as she felt a headache coming on. She hoped to stave it off by bringing two fingers up to either side of her head and began to rub her temples.

"I believe I just had a vision."

Both men in the room paled considerably.

"Are you certain?" Marik asked almost in a panic, "It shouldn't be possible..."

It was true. Ishizu only ever had visions when she possessed the millenium necklace, and even then they weren't good ones. Not usually.

Ishizu ignored her brother for the time being, because really- would she have said so otherwise? That, and she had more important things so do. And she had to make them happen. Fast.

She spun on her heel and turned to the other male in the room, "Odion? I need you to do something for me."  
He nodded and stood. He would do what she asked without question.

"I need you to get ahold of Yugi Motou for me."

He nodded once again, signalling he understood, and waisted no time. He walked out of the room with a faint sense of urgency. He knew whatever she saw couldn't bode too well.

As Odion left the room she bent down and started to pick up some of the broken pieces of glass. Thankfully, most of the pieces were bigger than what she suspected and it could easily be cleaned up. Though, of course there were still smaller pieces, but she'd let Marik sweep them up. Or something.

She barely registered Marik bend down as well, helping her with the broken glass, until he spoke up, "What did you see?"

She paused for a moment and sighed. She then stood up and looked at Marik, "I saw the Pharaoh's return...but he didn't come back alone."

She turned and disposed of what glass she had, leaving Marik bent down on the floor, his eyes wide and mouth slightly agape.

The Pharaoh? Back? ...what?

She started to walk out of the small kitchen when she whispered back to him, "Bad things are about to happen, brother..."

Then she was gone.

Well, that was cryptic.

* * *

"So... What're we gonna do?" Joey had asked after Atemu explained what he did to Yugi only hours before; why he thought he was back and about how he was still in possession of the puzzle. That, and also how he came to be in Yugi's house.

"Quite the entrance, I must say," Yugi had said at the time.

But now silence dominated the 5 men at the table.

Yugi's grandpa had long since made breakfast but the area still smelled of bacon and eggs; A western breakfast, but still very delicious.

This had the old man baffled. Most of their food was still on their plates. Sure they had eaten bits of it here and there but they were too into Atemu's explanation to care. Not that he could really blame them, he too found his tales facinating, but now their food was cold. What a waste.

He shook his head and got up to gather the dishes. Usually he would nag at Yugi into doing it but this was a special circumstance.

"Too bad Tea isn't here. She usually has good ideas about all this stuff," Yugi finally spoke up.

"Yeah, I was meaning to ask why she isn't here. She was supposed to be back yesterday, right?" Tristan looked at Yugi for some kind of explanation.

"Well, I called this morning before you guys got here and she didn't pick up. I figured she slept in or something."

Joey looked over at the clock on the stove, "Well, it's twelve thirty now, try her again. I'm sure she'll be _ecstatic_ to know the Pharaoh's back."

Tristan hit him on the back of the head.  
It was an unspoken rule not to let on her feelings. To anyone. Ever. If she found out... She'd have all their heads.

Atemu looked quizically at the two boys. Had there been an inside joke or something? He was confused.

Yugi chose then to get up and grab the phone. He decided he would take Joey's advice; he'd call Tea one more time. Though, this time he felt a bit more anxious. He didn't know why, but it might have something to do with everyone in the room staring at him quietly. even his grandfather halted his dish-washing.

He just shook his head as one ring came and went, then the next. In the middle of the third ring someone picked up the phone.

"Hi, this is Yugi. Is Tea home?"

There was a pause.

"Alright. Can you just tell her to call me when she can? Thanks," and then he hung up. He then looked into expecting eyes and shifted uncomfortably on his feet. With the news he just got... he didn't know how they would react. They've never thought they'd acutally have to deal with this kind of situation.

"Er... Her mother said she was on a date of some kind..."

Joey and Tristan's jaws dropped to the floor. Atemu seemed unfazed and Yugi's grandfather stifled a laugh. Apparently he saw this as entertaining.

"Whaddya mean 'a date'! Since when is she a girl?"

Yugi let out a good laugh. He had to admit it was kind of wierd. She had been 'one of the guys' for so long. It never actually occured to them that one day she might not want to be anymore.

Well, there was also the fact that she vehemently ranted on about how she just didn't 'do dates'. 'What changed her mind this time?' He wondered.


	7. Chapter 7

And guess what? I have a job now! Though I doubt that will really hinder my "writing progress", seeing as how I take so long to begin with!

But I'm trying. Really!

So, here is another chapter. Tea meet the Pharaoh in the next chapter, so stay tuned! 

* * *

Ishizu almost couldn't belive what she had seen. In fact, if she never owned the millenium necklace she would be on her way to a mental facility. Even now it seemed crazy; never before had she seen anything like that without the items' help.

Her vision had been awefully confusing, what with her vision broken up into different times, but she was smart however, and put the pieces of it together.

First, she saw the past.

She saw the Pharaoh losing his temper (which was surprising in and of itself, since he always appeared calm and collected) at some heavy-built, unattractive man. This man also appeared to be wearing an object around his neck that looked eerily similar to the Pharaoh's millenium puzzle.

She didn't recognize him as a priest and had no knowledge of this mysterious item. Not even in her ancient family archives.  
She couldn't make out what the Pharaoh was saying, so she looked at her surroundings.

She noticed the priests that fanned out on both sides of him (her past self included), looking ready to intervine if need be, but also something rather peculiar. Behind the Pharaoh stood a faceless woman, who almost seemed to be cowering behind him as he confronted the muscular man.

Then her vision skipped forward, though it was still in the past.

It was modern times and the Pharaoh and Seto Kaiba were dueling. Only... it wasn't exactly Kaiba. A man named Anubis was possessing him to some extent. And then, he pulled himself from Seto's body and took form.

Ishizu recognized him as the man in her previous vision, and he was planning on taking revenge. For what, she didn't know.  
But now she could put a name to a face.

Now she saw the present. She saw the Pharaoh rise up out of his sarcoughegus and make his way to Yugi But as the Pharaoh awakened... so did something else.

She saw a tomb that was only now being discovered, and a dark soul emerge from it's depth.

Her vision lingered on the door of the tomb a moment longer, as if something wanted her to notice something.  
And she did.

The Millenium eye was the only thing on the bare door, but it marked it as having some connection the the legendary items.

Her final vision was that of the future. This one disturbed her the most.

There were monsters everywhere. Big, small, destructive.  
There were screams, there was fire, there was blood.  
She saw the bodies of all her Japanese friends; Yugi, Joey, Tea... all perished.

Then she saw a dungeon. It was dark and damp; the typical prison one would expect if you lived in ancient times.  
It was uncomfortable just to be in.

She came across a cell, complete with dripping water and various sizes of rats...

Her eyes landed upon the Pharaoh, then. The once so courageous man, so regal and proud, now lay broken; lifeless. It made Ishizu sick to her stomach. And if it wasn't for the slight rise and fall of his chest, she would have thought him dead.

And that's when she snapped back to reality. She knew what she had to do; Get ahold of Yugi and get the Pharaoh to this mystery tomb.  
She also had to get a hold of the Egyptian government. She would become leader of the excavation team. She'd have to pull a few strings, but she had no doubt she could pull it off. This way she could get clearance for Yugi and his friends, as the Pharaoh would undoubtedly bring them.

* * *

It was a while later in the Motou's household. Joey and Tristan had already left. Joey had his plans to go and meet up with Mai, and Tristan like-wise with Joey's little sister, Serenity. Even Yugi's grandpa had gone out on some 'errand'. Whatever that meant. So now it was just Yugi and Atemu.

Brainstorming this morning had been, for the most part, unsucessful.

Joey had suggested going to Egypt again for some potential clues, but where hadn't they already looked?

They were clueless as to where to begin searching, especially when they had so little to go on.

Yugi sighed, though it went unnoticed by Atemu, who seemed to also be lost in his thoughts. It wasn't the first time today he found himself wishing Tea was here. She had an ability to say the right thing and offer her sensible advice. Yugi always admired that ability in her that was so rare in others.

The sound of the phone ringing jostled the two of them out of their thoughts. Yugi got up and grabbed for the phone immedietly. Maybe it was Tea?

He put the phone to his ear, the Pharaoh watching him curiously.

"Hello?"

It wasn't Tea. It was Ishizu. 

* * *

Tea smiled shyly when she spotted Anubis. She hoped she looked alright and not too over-dressed.

She had donned a white sun dress with a light floral pattern that crossed diagonally over it. She also wore white flats, as she had learned not to wear heals. Apparently, being taller than the opposite sex was borderline offensive to them. She mentally scoffed stupid men.

Anubis walked over to her and smiled a dazzling smile. She blushed in response, her cheeks turning a light shade of pink.

He was even more attractive than she remembered.

"Mizaki-san," he greeted formally.

"Oh! Please, just Tea."

He seemed pleased.

"Very well then, Tea."

And hour had quickly came and went, and Tea seemed to be enjoying herself.

She showed him around, much like she had with Yugi (really the Pharaoh at the time), only this time she steered clear of the arcade. She didn't want a repeat of the whole 'Johnny Steps' fiasco.

Another hour flew by. Tea was surprised with how comfortable she was with him (she had a sneaky suspicion why; he did remind her of a certain dead Pharaoh). She completely forgot about his stalker-like behavior from this morning. Someone this kind could not be a psychopath. At least, in her expirence, the bad guys were bad, and they showed it. Always.

At this point they had both settled for something to eat at a small bakery near his hotel. It wasn't fancy, but the smell made Tea's mouth water as soon as she stepped inside.

They sat down at a table for two near the window and ate. Or rather... Tea ate. Anubis insisted he wasn't hungry, so Tea bought something small. She always thought it was rude to eat in front of someone with nothing, but she was _starving_!

"I didn't realize there would be so much to see in the city." Anubis sat back in his chair casually. "I always pictured a place with no green and the smell of pollution. I'm glad I was wrong."

Tea smiled. She never really thought much of it, but she supposed that was because she had grown up here.  
"Well, I'm happy you like it here. How long do you plan on staying for?"

He looked down slightly.  
"Hopefully not too long. I wish to be home as soon as possible."

Oh... Well, she guessed she overestimated his fondness of Japan.

He took notice of her slight drop in mood and leaned forward, his necklace now hanging off his neck in Tea's plain sight.  
"Please don't take offense. There's just things I need to go back and... deal with."

She suddenly got a bad vibe. They way he had just said that... was off.

He stood abruptly, "I'm sorry, but I should really be going."  
He tucked in his chair and made to turn to leave, "Thank you for today, Tea. I really do hope we meet again."

She stared at his back as he walked off, out of the store and her sight.

She was too stunned to be angry at his rudeness.

A red glint then caught her attention from the floor. He had dropped his necklace!  
She quickly grabbed it with the intention of catching up to him and giving it back, but as soon as her fingers touched the red orb, everything went black.


	8. Chapter 8

Hey.. uh... Long time no see?  
No excuses. Just procrastination.

I think this chapter is a bit longer than usual, so hopefully that maybekindasorta makes up for it?

* * *

Her eyes opened to an unfamiliar place. This was certainly _not_ the little bakery she was just in. She _was_ just in there, wasn't she?

She couldn't make out where she was; all she could see right this moment was a bunch of colours that blurred together.

She sat herself upright, as she was currently on the floor, and instantly wished she hadn't. A painful head rush came over her and her hands flew up to her head, to keep her steady.

Within moments the feeling passed and she could see clearly once again.

Definitely not the bakery. She wasn't even sure if this place was in _Japan_.

The floor and the walls were made of stone. Polished stone, but stone nonetheless. It was tan in colour, so she thought instantly of limestone. Could it be?

She stood up and noticed she wasn't in her normal clothes either. She was still in a dress... just not the one she had been wearing. This one was long and made of thin (very thin) white material. What it was, though, she couldn't determine. All she knew what that it was soft and left her feeling a little exposed.

Just what, exactly, was going on?

She stood up and decided to check out the place. There has to be some people here, right? Hopefully, if she found any, they would be friendly. She had dealt with too many psychopaths for one lifetime, thankyouverymuch.

Her feet lead her down the corridor she was currently in.

She took note of the murals on the walls. They were beautiful, raised reliefs. And not Japanese. In fact, they were hieroglyphs. Egyptian hieroglyphs. She had a sneaky suspicion it wasn't just some museum. It was too... perfect looking. Too_ new _to be recent. If _that_ makes any sense.

But she couldn't be where she thought she was. Or when, she should say. It was impossible. Really... what the heck was going on?

And then, as she rounded a corner she heard another pair of footsteps. Tea's heart sped up a few beats. Would this person be a friend, or foe?

And, as it turned out, it was a very good friend. Someone she actually thought to be dead.

Her breath hitched.

It was the Pharaoh of Yugi's old millennium puzzle, and he was just as regal and beautiful as she remembered him to be. And here he was, standing in front of her in all his ancient Egyptian garb. Complete with his crown (and was that a sword?).

She noticed his eyes light up at the sight of her. Something she was not really used to seeing. She smiled timidly at him, still not sure if any of this was real.

He smiled right back and ran up to hug her. She stiffened at the contact, out of surprise, not fear, but he didn't seem to take it that way. He stood back and looked at her with worry.

He began to speaking to her, but there was no sound. She couldn't hear him.  
Why couldn't she hear him?

She opened her mouth to tell him, anything, but she felt lightheaded again and she begain falling to the floor.

She got to see him again and she couldn't even stay conscious long enough to enjoy it. Someone upstairs has a very cruel sense of humor.

* * *

"Miss..? Miss, are you alright?"

Tea's head was throbbing. Overwhelmingly so. And the light was burning, even with her eyes closed.

"Miss?"

She groaned. Her head was about to split open, and this man -was it?- was talking just a little too loud for her liking.

The man started to shake her shoulder, and her eyes opened to glare at him. She felt absolutely horrid, and he wasn 't going away.

Then her mind rationalized for her; he was probably just concerned. That, or he didn't feel like calling an ambulance.

She sat up slowly, her headache now down to a dull roar inside her head, and told the man that she was okay (though she really didn't even know herself) and asked for him to call her a cab.

He did so without complaint and Tea sat outside waiting for the tell-tale, yellow taxi.

It would be about a ten minute wait, she had been told, so her thoughts wondered.

It just must have been a weird dream. That can sometimes happen when you pass out, right? But then that brings up why she had passed out in the first place. She'd been eating healthy to keep her shape for dance, and she wasn't over-working herself.  
Then she pinched her hand and she watched as her skin bunched up, and then she let go watching again as the skin fell back into place.  
Well, that means she wasn't dehydrated.

Maybe she did something on her date with Anubis.

'His necklace!'

She had forgotten about that. She reached for it and then blacked out. But she couldn't remember actually touching it. And she didn't remember seeing it when she came to.

Ugh. She rubbed her temples and decided maybe she should just sleep on this whole thing.

But then that brought on a new problem: Yugi. What was she going to tell him? She couldn't go another day without seeing him. He would start wondering where she was.

She supposed she could just tell him the truth?

'Yeah, so I met up with a complete stranger, walked around, oh yeah! Then I passed out. No biggie.'

She snorted. That would certainly NOT fly with any of her boys.

A sharp 'beep' snapped her out of her thoughts. Well, maybe she would go home and call Yugi saying she was feeling under the weather. It wasn't exactly a lie...

Anyway, she got in the cab and it drove off.

She slumped a bit in the backseat, sighing a bit in relief. She would be home soon.

* * *

When Yugi and the former Pharaoh got to Tea's house, her parents were just leaving. Thankfully, Atemu had enough sense to hide before they saw him, and told Yugi they had to go to a business thing but he was more than welcome to stay and wait for Tea. He had thanked them and made his way inside. Atemu followed after they had driven off.

"Hopefully she is home soon. Before dark would be best, I think."

Yugi nodded at his Yami. He had a bad feeling ever since his talk with Ishizu. She was pretty vague about it all, but they knew something was going down, and it wasn't going to be good. Once they knew that Tea was safe (she almost seemed to _attract _trouble), they could talk about what they could do from there.

Yugi smiled a little bit. Boy... was she going to be in for a shock.

He was going over how he should tell her about the Pharaoh. Should he ease her into it, then bring him out? Or should he just let Atemu greet her right at the door?

Unfortunately, he didn't get a chance to decide because that's when Tea decided to waltz through.

She didn't notice at first, her back was turned as she locked her door, and she seemed to have something on her mind.

When she finally did turn around, her reaction was not at all expected.

They saw her blue eyes widen, her mouth formed the word 'no' (but there was no sound), and then she fainted.

Thankfully, Atemu had amazingly fast reflexes and caught her before she hit the ground.

"Well... uh... That went well?"


	9. Chapter 9

Been a while, I know. I have a job that had me working quite a bit, but now hours have been cut so I'll have more free time. Woo.

So, on with chapter 9, yeah?

* * *

Tea woke to a pain in her head she could not describe. Her mind had just shown her something she was pretty sure she wasn't meant to see.

There was a hooded man standing over some kind of alter, knife in hand, and a body strewn across the flat surface.

When she looked closer, there were shackles binding this person; keeping them from struggling.

Tea shivered.

This looked like something that one of those dark cults would do. You know, sacrifice a person to appease a god.

She hoped it wasn't what it looked like.

The man stopped speaking and moved so he was now atop the altar, almost straddling this person (who was clearly a woman now that she could see).

The hand with the knife slowly moved up her torso, until it reached her heart.

The hood fell back just then, revealing just who it was about to murder this girl.

Anubis.

Not the nice one she had just met, but the one who tried to kill Yugi for revenge against the Pharaoh a couple of years ago.

What the heck?  
She woke herself up when she heard the screaming.

She shuddered as she replayed it over in her mind.

What could this mean? She wasn't really one to have crazy dreams like that. Ever. Not even back when they were constantly fighting bad guys who sought world domination.

Well, except for earlier today...

Speaking of which-

Tea shot up instantly. She could have sworn...

She forgot about her headache. "Ugh.." Her fingers rubbed her temples in an attempt to ease some of the pain. No luck. Go figure.

"Tea? How are you feeling?"

She opened her eyes, though still squinting, trying to find the person that voice belonged to.

Ah, Yugi.

"Like I got hit by a freight train or something."

The was a deep chuckle off to the side.  
Tea went rigid. There was no way... There was no possible way... This had to be another one of these crazy dreams. She really needed them to stop. Three in one day was just a little bit too much.

"Dreams?" Yugi questioned.

Oops. Did she say that out loud?

"It's really nothing. Probably just the jet lag? Haha..." She really tried her best to sound convincing. It didn't really.

And then she turned her head, very slow, to the left side of Yugi. And there he stood. Exactly like in her dream. Just with more _modern_ clothes...

"So, I'm not dreaming? You _aren't_ just a made up version from inside my head?"

Atemu raised a brow, "most definitely not."

This time Yugi chuckled.

And in a flash Tea flung herself at the ancient spirit-now-man, tears free-falling down her pretty face. She didn't care if her make-up smudged. She didn't think about how her tears were soaking his shirt. All her mind could process was the fact that Atemu was back from the dead, and how much she had actually missed him.

The boys in the room weren't quite sure what to do with a crying Tea. But, then again, Yugi had expected a much more emotional reunion with Atemu and Tea.

He watched the pair as Atemu awkwardly hugged her back. "It's.. uh.. Nice to see you too?"

Yugi never actually laughed, but it was hilarious. Seeing a Pharaoh so confused with a crying girl...

But he guessed Tea sensed the discomfort, so she backed off, wiping the last of her tears with the back of her hand.

"Welcome back." She smiled. "Just gimme a sec so I can fix myself. Then we can talk. I'm sure there's a lot of things I missed."

Tea quickly scampered down her hallway to the bathroom to fix her running mascara.

When she got back to her room the boys were sitting on he bed. Well, the Pharaoh was sitting. Yugi was lying down, arms behind his head, looking like he had no care in the world.

As soon as she closed the door, the interrogation began.

"So. How was the date, Tea?" Yugi asked, a teasing tone beneath the innocent one. He sat up after seeing the red on her cheeks.

"H-how did you find out about that?" She hissed at the boy. He shrugged, "You're parents. I called earlier looking for you, but you were "out"."

Face still pink she retorted, "Well, don't get too curious. He was an ass-"

"So it really WAS a date?"

The young girl sat down on her desk chair and smacked her forhead with her palm. "Yeah. Well... Kind of. He was an ass anyway."

This bit of info piqued Atemu's interest. "How so?" He asked.  
"He just up and left in the middle of it," she saw Yugi was about to inquire something else, so she quickly changed the subject, "_Anyway_, enough about my love-life, or really lack thereof, tell me what happened while I was gone!"

The mood got a bit more serious then.

"There's really not too much to tell. We're not quite sure ourselves." Atemu replied and his thumb rubbed over his millenium puzzle. "All I know was that I woke up and found my way to Yugi somehow."

"And while Joey, Tristen, Pharaoh and I were thinking over possible explanations, Ishizu called."

"Joey _and_ Tristen? They were both there?" Yugi nodded. "Yeah."

"What did she have to say?" She pressed on.  
"Yes. I would like to know as well." Tea looked to Atemu, then back to Yugi. "He said that he would like you to hear it with us. But then Joey and Tristen both had other plans and had to leave," he explained.

"She was kinda vague about it. She said that she had a vision, and that we should probably head over there, as soon as we can." Yugi's brows furrowed a fraction, "Whatever it is though, it can't be good. She really didn't sound all that happy about it, if you know what I mean."

Tea sighed, "it never really is _good_ news with stuff like this though, is it?"

The boys agreed.

Tea then began wondering to herself. What could this all mean? It couldn't have just been a crazy coincidence that she met a boy who's name practically _screamed_ anicent Egypt. Then her dreams. And now this?  
She knew it couldn't have been a good thing that the Pharaoh was back. Don't get her wrong, she was so happy, more than she should have been, with his return, but he could've only been brought back to save the world from some kind of peril.

That's how it was. And then, when the world was saved and everyone was happy again he'd leave. And then she'd be sad again...

Atemu watched the different emotions cross Tea's features. There was confusion, a bit of frustration, and then sadness. What could she have been thinking about?  
She had always been a bit of a mystery. For some reason she was always harder to read than everyone else.

Unless it was worry, or fearing for her friends.  
Yes. Those were at the forefront of her thoughts. At least they used to be, back when he was placing everyone in danger. He assumed that she was the same in that regard. Always a little too kind.

But maybe that's what puzzled him. He just couldn't quite grasp how someone could be so kind all that time. He wasn't used to it, he supposed.

Or... it just could have been the simple fact that she was a woman, and that they were all just so puzzling.

He had a sock flung his way. It didn't hit, of course. He was fast, after all. But _why_, was the question?

He looked at Tea, the thrower of the offending sock.

"I had a feeling you were mocking me."

What in the hell-?

She burst out laughing along with Yugi.

He dead-panned. He didn't get it? And here he was trying to keep a serious train of thought...  
Oh well.

He threw the sock right back.

* * *

There was a bit of odd humor at the end, I know. But I think I wrote that part more so for me... It was hilarious in MY head anyway..

'Till next time! And sorry it's short. Most of my chapters are though. I'll try to rectify it for next chapter!


	10. Chapter 10

Ok. That was fast update, eh? Well... at least faster than usual. By, like, a lot!

So, there is a short little time skip only because the inbetween is just filler stuff and non-important. So, we skip from last chapter in Tea's room to the trip. It's not long. It takes about a day to get ready and everything. Hey... It's a story and therefore totally realistic in make-believe world.

So, here you go. Chapter 10.

Disclaimer - I don't own Yugioh. Clearly. Or I'd be MUCH better off, money wise, than I am now.

Now, read! (:

* * *

As it turned out, Ishizu had all their expenses for the trip paid for. Their flight, hotel, traveling... Tea supposed there were perks to knowing all sorts of people. Especially Egyptians.

But, anyway...

Tea had avoided most of Joey and Tristens jabs at her and her failed "date", as it were, but now they were stuck this tiny plane together for at least 8 hours, 'kill me now,' she thought to herself.

She kept telling herself it was because they were like family; like older brothers she never had. So when she told them about how he stranded her at the bakery they demanded to know his name.  
Again, she told herself it was because they were like her brothers, maybe wanting to find him and then proceed to kick his ass. 'Denial. Its a good thing.'  
But for some reason, she didn't have the heart to tell them. The last Anubis they encountered had pretty much sought world domination and almost killed Yugi and Seto in the process.

They would naturally have a more biased opinion.

Tea sighed and sank in to her chair. It had been a while since the joking died down, and now Joey and Tristen had fallen in to slumber. Very loud slumber.

She so desperately wanted to go to sleep, but didn't think she could, or wanted to for that matter. Her last two dreams weren't very... normal. Her most recent was borderline-insanity.

Tea shuddered. She didn't want to think about it. And then her thoughts went to the one dream prior. Her eyes naturally sought out the Pharaoh who sat with Yugi in the row infront of her, and to the right a bit.

It was such a vivid dream. All the clear colours and amazing detail. Right down to the small, barely-there, nicks in the limestone murals on the wall. And then the Pharaoh himself. His eyes were so expressive... Which was a bit odd, considering that they in realy life, were so guarded.

Maybe she wouldn't mind re-living that one.

Her eyes drifted out one of the tiny windows and looked at the clouds as they passed underneith the plane. Logic told her that they were really made of tiny droplets of water that had evaporated from water down below, but they looked so darn fluffy!

Maybe if she had one of them as a pillow...?

"You okay, Tea?"

The girl in question snapped her head to Yugi, the one who spoke and snapped her out of her thoughts.

Atemu, she noticed, had looked back as well.

"Y- yeah. I'm alright. Just thinking."

"You should rest, Tea. You look tired," Atemu suggested.

Great. Which meant she probably looked like hell. She shrugged it off and decided to heck with it. She had to risk crazy dreams in order to stay sane on this trip. And after all, they _were_just dreams.

* * *

This time, Tea was well aware she was dreaming. Or she was dead. Either way, she knew it wasn't actually happening.

She was in another ancient, limestone mixed with marble, room. There weren't any murals or overly fancy paintings or carvings in this room. It was pretty much bare of anything. It was beautiful even in its simplicity. Tea felt a sense of comfort, and a strange twinge of excitement here.

She looked about the room some more and noticed that she had missed the beautifully carved pillars that were holding up the ceiling. They weren't complex in their design either, but exquisite, just the same.

She walked towards one of them, gently tracing the delicate curves as they wound around the structure.

For some reason, a feeling of pure happiness flooded her system. She twirled around and let out a happy giggle.

She noticed her dress was paper thin and see through as well. She just didn't care. She was fascinated by her body, though.

For some reason she could not fathom, her skin was gold. Not a _golden_ tan, not dark skinned, but gold... paint?  
And all over she was covered in beautiful markings. Head-to-toe, she was covered in hieroglyphs, cursive and beautiful flower petals. And there were suns on her hands and feet. And around her navel there was another sun shaped pattern, bigger and it seemed to stem from her belly-button. It was all dotted.

She wished she could see all of her at once. She felt like she looked beautiful.

Behind her then, she heard a deep chuckle. She didn't need to turn to know who it was, but she did anyway.

Atemu stood and watched her silently. He was shirtless and covered in much the same markings, save the sun on his torso. He was also lacking the gold paint. And his sword... and only wore a very modest crown atop his head.

She didn't care if she ever woke up. There she was with him and just so overwhelmingly happy!

His mouth moved, but there were no sounds.

Tea became fearful then and her world faded out. Or was it in?

'Not again...'

"Tea?"

No no no no no...

"Earth to Teaaaaaaa"

She jumped out of her seat when Joey gave her one of his famous 'wet willies'. She hated those with a passion.

"Damn it, Joey! What the hell was that for?"

He was almost fazed with the look she shot him. And then he grinned pervishly.

"Jeez, Tea. If I knew you were having one of _those_ dreams, I would have let you sleep-"

Her face turned scarlet and she almost tackled the poor guy. Tristen thought it was hilarious, Yugi laughed uncomfortably and Atemu wasn't sure what to make of it.

They were now in Egypt though, and he really wanted to get off this plane...

Tristen shoved Joey off the plane so the others could get off as well.

Atemu, as soon as he stepped out of the aircraft, took a breath. His surroundings may have been modern, but something about the air here was the same as always had been.

He was home.


	11. Chapter 11

Oh my god. Another one? I'm on a roll. Woo!

Ok, I'm gonna tell you, I know a lot about ancient Egypt, and I know a lot of stuff wont be accurate in this story, so don't go referencing this stuff anywhere, because it might not be true. Like... at all.  
So please don't tell me it's inaccurate. I am well aware.

And the gold paint and markings on Tea? I got the idea from 'The Mummy'. Anuksunamun style, just a different meaning in my fic. I wont tell you what though. 

* * *

"Deja vu, yeah?"

There were nods all around the group.

There wasn't time for reminiscing, however, because as soon as they stepped off the plane, Ishizu and her brothers, Marik and Odion, were there to greet them.

They were smiling at their Japanese visitors, plus one Pharaoh, welcoming them back to their country.

"Welcome, everyone," Ishizu went and hugged each and every one, but bowed to the Pharaoh beforehand. He was _still_ a Pharaoh, after all.  
Marik and Odion just shook their hands.

Tea shivered when Marik grabbed her hand. It had been over two years since he had been possessed and taken over her body. Two long years, and she still wasn't over the whole traumatizing event.

She felt silly. It wasn't his fault, and she didn't blame him, but she was still uncomfortable. She had long since forgiven the blonde, Egyptian man, but she didn't forget.

It was even more disturbing because she had no memory of the actual possession. Just the blanks in her memory and Yugi's word. It made her feel violated.

So, when he withdrew his hand, he gave her an apologetic look. She wished he didn't. It made her feel worse... He was innocent in all of that too.

"It has been a while, my king," Marik and Odion both bowed to Atemu, "but we can catch up later. We have to leave now if we are to make it to the site by nightfall."

"Site?" Joey questioned.

"Yes," Ishizu responded, "part of the reason I called all of you out here. Come," the eldest sibling motioned towards a black limo, "we have much to discuss."

"I can't believe we're traveling to a dig site in a _limo_!" Joey sprawled out in his overly sized leather chair.

It was one of the bigger limos Tea had ever been in. Actually... The only one. But, anyway.

It easily fit her entire group plus the three Egyptian siblings. The entire back of the vehicle was open, and there was a mini bar in the middle.

"It's one of the perks of being a top Egyptologist," Ishizu casually replied.

"The hotel you'll be staying in is fairly close to the site, as well. About a ten minute drive out of town," Marik added on, "it's been quite convenient."

"What's so special about where we're going, though? What makes it different from other excavations?"

Ishizu looked to Yugi, "I'm not exactly sure as of yet. But it has something to do with my vision. It's all connected somehow, I just don't know how.

"What we know for certain is that it is connected to your dynasty, Pharaoh; it has the eye of hourus, or rather, the millenium eye right on the entrance."

Atemu looked rather curious at this bit of information. What could this be? A temple? A tomb? If so, who's tomb is it? Who would it have belonged to? His own collapsed two years ago.

"There is also the fact we can't open it."

"What?" Atemu questioned.

"Nothing we have used, machine or otherwise, has been able to. We have tried everything, even gave up on preserving the entrance, but we haven't even scratched it. Which leads me to believe..."

"Magic must somehow be protecting it," Atemu finished for Ishizu.

"Yes. It's the only thing that explains it. But try telling that to the authorities," Marik snorted the latter part.

"We were hoping the puzzle around your neck could somehow open it," Odion spoke, "It's the only thing Ishizu hasn't been able to try."

Atemu nodded.

"... Tea? Are you feeling all right?" Marik looked at the half-sleeping brunette.

"Huh? Yeah. Just tired is all. You know, all the flying and such."

The blonde beside her snorted, "You slept for half the freakin' flight. How are you still tired?"

She rolled her eyes, albeit half-heartedly. She was very tired, even _with_ the sleep on the plane.

"Are you sure you're all right?"

It was Atemu that questioned her this time.

"Y-yeah. I'm perfectly fine. Just tired."

"Then perhaps we should go right to the hotel? The site will still be there in the morning," Ishizu offered.

"Yes. That would probably be best. The desert gets fairly cold at night," the Pharaoh had decided.

The older woman nodded.

Ishizu picked up the phone to her left and let the driver know.

It was sunset when they reached their destination. They sky was alight with orange and pink and purple hues.

'Beautiful,' Tea thought to herself.

And really, it was. She just wished she could have seen it atop a hill or something. And when she was less tired.

As it was, there were scattered buildings blocking some of the fading rays of light. And, even now, the temperature was starting to drop.

The group was ushered inside the hotel.

They were provided two rooms, one with two beds, the other with three.

Apparently, they spared no expense on the visitors.

"The Pharaoh deserves no less. We only wish we could do more."

That was the excuse.

Joey and Tristen didn't complain. They wouldn't be sharing a bed together, so everything was alright in their books.

Joey and Tristen had their own room, and Tea was going to be sharing hers with Yugi and Atemu.

She didn't know what to make of that. What if she had another dream? She actually hoped she wouldn't. As the one on the plane proved, it didn't give her the best sleep, and she would need to be well rested for tomorrow. She had a feeling.

Then there was the fact she was rooming with two men, which normally wouldn't bug her, she always had to before back in their dueling days, but one of the men was the one who haunted her mind when she slept.

What if she accidentally said something in her sleep?

That would suck.

Their bags were dropped by their beds and Tea was the first to get in to the bathroom. She wanted to be clean and ready to sleep as soon as possible.

In the shower, though, she had time to think.

What exactly would tomorrow bring? They had all come to the conclusion that it was a tomb. What else could it be that was so important?

She had a weird feeling about it. She didn't know why, but she did. It might have been all the anxiety catching up to her. It was all pretty delayed.

It was all seeming too real, her old friend was back from the dead. The _dead_! Most other people would have fainted, she supposed, but she must've been to desensitized to the whole... supernatural thing.

But this train of thought lead her to think about _why_ he was back from the dead. To save the world? To figure out his past? To... crush her heart again?

She shook her head to dispel those unwanted thoughts. That could not be his sole purpose. And besides, he never meant to. Hell... he never even knew what she thought of him. She never hinted, not once. At least, she didn't think so. She tried, really hard. After all, how awkward would _that_ be? He shared a body with Yugi, so physically, there was nothing she could do.

She sighed. That was two years ago.

She was older now. She'd get over it.

Tea turned off the water and stepped out to towel herself off.

She was drying her hair when she noticed herself in the mirror. Flashes of her most recent dreams came back to her.

She touched her opposite arm and traced where the markings would have been. She traced them all the way to her bellybutton. To where those dots were.

In the mirror she saw his outline. Same markings... same smile.

"Tea?"

Yugi's voiced jostled her out of her thoughts immediately.

"Are you ok? You've been in there a while..."

Had she? Oh darn...

"Yeah. I'll be out in a sec."

She didn't hear him again.

She looked back in to the mirror and saw nothing. 'Great, now I'm hallucinating. Wonderful.'

When she stepped out of the bathroom, dressed for bed, she saw the two boys -no, men- on their beds talking to eachother. Nothing important, she mused, or their tones would have been different.

"Well, I'm going to bed," she yawned right on cue, then blushed, "er... get me in the morning, ok?"

"...ok?"

And with that she turned to her separate room and closed the door. She flopped onto her bed, bounced once, and as soon as her head hit her pillow, she was oblivious to the world.

It wasn't 10 minutes later the two males in the other room did the same, but it was the girl in the other room who would dream.


	12. Chapter 12

Holy smokes, batman! It's been sooooo long and I'm sorry for that. I am! Work is killer and I'm moving out of my parents house, so it's taking up my time.  
I'm not old, by the way. In case you were picturing a 48 year-old bum mooching off her parents.  
But, anyway-  
This is the next chapter. There might be a billion spelling mistakes, but it's like... Two in the morning. K? If you notice them it would be awesome if you inform me about it so that I might fix it! :)

* * *

Tea woke up the next morning drenched in sweat. It felt as if every one of her nerve endings was on fire, but nothing was hurting.

Her skin was flushed, her mouth was dry, and there was a feeling in her lower belly that she had never felt. At least not from just a dream.

And what a good dream it was.

She couldn't remember it in full, but she recalled enough of it ti know _exactly_ what was going on.

She remembered lots of bare skin on skin, limbs entangled and soft sighs...

She sat herself up on her hotel bed and looked at her alarm clock on the stand next to her. She still had half an hour before the stupid thing was set to go off!

She grunted in frustration. Both from lack of sleep, and lack of-

The young woman blushed. She definitely caught sight of a certain male appendage...

Oh god. How was she ever going to look at the Pharaoh's face again? Because, of course, who else would her dreams be about?

Familiar butterflies flitted around in her stomach. She had to spend an entire day in his presence!

Tea ran a hand through her messy brunette locks and kicked off her covers. They landed in a heap beside the bed as she stood up.

Well, it just wouldn't do to just sit there and dwell on it; She might as well get her day started.

With half-hearted determination she walked to the bathroom to have a nice, cold shower.

* * *

Atemu had been up for almost an hour now. He was always up when the sun god rose up in to the sky.

Yugi on the other hand was prone to sleeping in. A lot. That much, he was certain, had not changed, and he found the fact comforting. While Yugi had grown up (to a degree), he was still the same as when Atemu had left.

However, in the next room, the other occupant was starting to stir. It was about time, he thought, with all that whimpering coming from the girl he was surprised she hadn't woken up sooner.

He heard her get up and roam about her room for a few moments and then headed to the washing room.  
He, himself, had just gotten out of the shower.

A brilliant invention of the modern world. Having the option of cold AND hot water still baffled and amazed him.

His eyes flickered to Yugi's sleeping form when he heard a particularly loud snore. But then his thoughts wandered back to his female friend. Perhaps she had changed more so than the others? At least, up 'till now, she didn't seem like her usual, perky self. Perhaps she really was just tired, like she claimed, but still...

Something irked him though. Something that didn't feel quite right with that excuse. He decided he would watch her more carefully to make sure she didn't over-exert herself and become ill.

The shower had shut off.

The Pharaoh sat on his designated bed by the window in only his towel. He remembered that people from this time expected an insane amount of modesty from everyone. So, he made sure to keep his towel snug around his waist just incase Tea decided to walk in to their room unexpectedly.

Personally, he never really minded nakedness. The human body was magnificent, something to be admired. He didn't understand why modern people needed to wear such a crazy amount of clothing at all times. _Whatever._

Yugi stirred, but he wouldn't wake for at least another five minutes.

He heard a click and the door connecting Tea's room with theirs opened.

Tea fully had the intention of going down to the lobby of the hotel to grab a bite to eat (and maybe avoid a certain spiky-haired Egyptian...), but she stopped dead in her tracks and lost all thought at the image before her.

There was a half naked Atemu, just sitting nonchalantly, on the side of his bed.

Her eyes couldn't help but drink in the sight of the man before her. His golden skin, still wet from an earlier shower, seemed to glow in the light of the sun coming through the window. His bare chest was rather nicely toned and she followed every line and dip of his musculature 'till she across the white fluffy towel covering his lower half. She had a sneaky suspicion that there was nothing underneath...

Her blue eyes snapped to his violet-crimson ones.

And she realized that she was just blatantly staring.

"I-I was just going to get some fool. I mean f-food!"

Her face turned scarlet, then rushed out of the room, slamming the door behind her.

Did she just-? Did she just look at him with some sort of attraction?

He put his hand to his chin. Maybe he should have put on his shorts...?

Yugi woke up at the door slamming, "what happened?"

'Good question'.

* * *

Tea was mentally cursing herself. Of _course_ he would be awake! And of _course_ he had to be wearing NOTHING but a _towel_!

'UGH!'

She took a savage bite out of her poor muffin.

And, to make things worse, she had to openly ogle him! Heck, she wouldn't be surprised of she were drooling too!

What a horrible way to start a day (or amazing).

Her head hit the table she was sitting at with a 'thump'. She still felt extremely exhausted. She wasn't aware of it until now, what with her chaotic morning and all.

Maybe she was ill. It would certainly explain the weird, vivid dreams and the fatigue. It was the only logical explanation.

She took another bite of her muffin and almost choked when she felt a hand on her shoulder.

"Relax, Tea. It is only me."

Tea let out a breath and relaxed her muscles that had been scared stiff.

"Oh, Ishizu!"

The Egyptian woman sat down beside her in an empty seat, folding her hands in her lap.

"Is there something troubling you?"

Tea sighed. She wanted to say "Yes!" But she ended up saying,

"Not at all. Why do you ask?"

"Well, I saw that you were attacking your food, and that you were tense."

She was too observant, Tea thought.

"Well, I have been feeling more tired than I usually do, but not sick or anything."

Ishizu contemplated for a moment. Then, all of a sudden an all too familiar golden eye appeared on her forehead and her eyes glazed over.

Tea leaned back in fear. She would never get used to that.

But just as quickly at it happened, the eye dissipated and her eyes went back to normal. They darted about the room quickly and she stood up.

"Tea, I need you to get back to your room as quickly as possible."

"What? Why-?"

"Trust me. It's not safe here. Go."

Her tone took the young brunette off guard, but she didn't need yo be told twice. She knew something serious just happened (It was always serious with this kind of thing) and she wasn't sticking around to fine out what.

She stood up and took off out of the room to the nearest elevator.

Fortunately one was ready for her so she got in and pressed her floor. Safe!

"Tea? Is that actually you?"

Back stiff, she turned around to find Anubis. Yeah. The one who ditched her on her so called 'date'.

He looked as she remembered. Tall, dark and handsome.

"What are the odds, huh?" He flashed a purely innocent smile, but it did nothing to put Tea at ease. In fact, it sped her pulse up. What _were_ the odds?

"What brings you to Egypt?"

The elevator doors closed and the two of them were alone as it started its ascent.

She wasn't sure how to answer. Something told her this was wrong. She should've taken the stairs.

Oh...! She couldn't get to the boys fast enough.

"Friends," she tried to keep her voice as chipper as she could.

"...Friends?"

He smirked. "You mean the Pharaoh."

Her blood chilled. She couldn't have heard him right.

"What?"

"I said, this is your floor, isn't it?"

She looked at the floor number and practically ran out the doors when they opened.

"Maybe I'll see you around, Tea." He smiled again and dissapeared behind the closing doors.

The poor girl sunk down to the ground, leaning against the wall for some kind of support.

She almost had a heart attack!

Her head was spinning and a wave of nausea hit her. Why did she feel like she just narrowly escaped her death?

Her vision swam and she barely aware of the two men rushing down the hall to find her.

"Tea!" Yugi called out to her, "are you alright?"

His Yami bent down on a knee to examine her, but she didn't respond to his presence. Instead, her head lulled and she fainted right in to the arms of the young king.


	13. Chapter 13

Oh hi there... I'm still living! Hehe...

Sorry for the crazy long wait, I've actually forgotten about it until I got a couple of awesome reviews asking me to update! They feel really good to get, especially since it's been so long!

So thank you.

* * *

3000 BCE

"Ouch," a young girl, no more than seven had hit her head against the side of, what could only be described as a wagon, for the third time today.  
It was a rickety old thing; it wasn't a smooth ride either. You could feel every stone, bump and crack as the wheels rolled them along.

There were 5 of them in this wagon, all tied up, to be sold as slaves. And all of them were young women. There was one in particular that stood out in this group. Her name was Teana. She was barely 17; in fact she was captured on her birthday only 7 days before.

She stood out because she was the only pale-skinned person here. Her captors, and her fellow slaves, were all darker-skinned Egyptians. She was from Rome, a long way from Egypt.

"Are you alright, Ahmes?"  
The child in question turned to Teana and smiled, "Yes. It's just that this ride is so bumpy! I can't stand without falling over."

"Then you should sit and be quiet."

The girl on the opposite of the wagon sneered at them. She about Teana's age and was in a foul mood ever since she was brought aboard. She couldn't blame her, not really. It was sweltering hot and well… they were all bound together by thick rope.

The little girl did eventually sit down and tried her best to keep quiet. She was a child after all, so full of energy. It made Teana a bit sad that she was to be sold to someone. Hopefully, they were kind to her.

The wagon came to an abrupt stop, and the girls all lurched forward.

"What have we got here? Traders, perhaps? What have you got in the back, there?"

This was a new voice. It spoke with an arrogance that made Teana curious. Who would dare speak like that to a group of shady brutes?

"Who's that?" Ahmes jumped from her spot and looked under the thin covering of the wagon, despite all their attempts to hush and stop the girl.

"They're wearing nice clothes," she said before Teana pulled her back. She pouted.

"Please, we want no trouble. It's just a couple of thieves we found on our way through."

Teana gawked. That was an outright lie. At least for her and Ahmes. Who were these people?

"Do you think they'll rescue us?"

Teana tried not to think about that. Hope was dangerous in this situation. They could very well _not_ save them.

"Well, I'll think I'll just take a look."

Teana could feel the tension coming off of all of them. She wanted to run, or hide. At least she knew (somewhat) that her current captors weren't going to kill her. Who knows what this new group of people could do.

The back of their wagon opened and there stood, what Teana assumed, was a warrior, or a guard of some kind.

He wore armor, breast plates and helm and all. But he looked much different than the roman fighters, but he did look important.

He was tall and dark skinned, like the rest of the men, but he wasn't overly muscular, and his dark hair gathered more towards the front of his head. At least what she could see under his helm.

"A 'couple' of _thieves_, right? Well, there's more than a couple and they don't look much like thieves."

The man took a step back and made a hand motion. "Take them," he spoke.

The thug leader didn't take to his 'goods' being stolen lightly. "Now, I think you don't want to be doing that," his hand slowly reaching for his blade.

The girls heard a rustle outside and a moment later three men came to fetch them.

Teana wasn't sure if she was grateful to be out or not. The sun was the highest in the sky and was beaming down on her almost painfully. Her skin would be red in no time at all.

She turned her head to a group of thirty men, all of them with horses and all armed. The group they were travelling with was all surrounded, blades to their necks.

The tall man with the dark hair spoke, "We'll be taking all of you to the capital. The Pharaoh can deal with you there."

The girls gasped.

Teana looked around, a bit confused. She assumed the Pharaoh was powerful, but just who was he? She had heard the term before in Rome, but she never really listened in. Was he a royal guard? Maybe part of their council? Or was he more than that? Was he the equivalent to an Emperor?

The girls were rounded up once again and put back in the wagon, but the cover was taken off. Their former captors were made to walk the rest of the way.

"This is exciting! We'll get to see the capitol!" One of the other girls exclaimed in a hushed voice. She was almost jumping in her seat. "Maybe we'll even get to see the Pharaoh!"

Teana leaned over and whispered in Ahmes' ear and asked, "Just what is this Pharaoh?" The little girl looked at Teana, taken aback, but she whispered, "I've never seen him, but he's our God on earth and all the other Gods talk to him and tell him what to do. He's the most powerful person in the world!"

This was a bizarre concept for her to grasp. They worshiped this Pharaoh? He was _that_ important to them? Back in Rome they revered their emperor, but Teana never once thought to worship him.

Teana sighed and looked at her feet. She used to have sandals on them. She used to have a lot of things. Clothes, not these rags which she now wore, jewelry, a family… She might never get to see them again.

Ahmes noticed Teana's distress and cuddled up beside her. She was thankful for this little girl; she was the only thing keeping her from shutting down completely.

The two of them stayed like that until the sun was low on the horizon, and the shape of a giant city came in to view.


	14. Chapter 14

Tea's mind was filled with images; too detailed to be a simple dream. There was no way they could be. There was too much detail. She could still feel the grooves in the wood of the wagon she was just in. She could smell the dry air of the desert, and she could _hear_ everything. Her mind was making up entire conversations with people.  
But what else could they be, if not dreams? Nothing else made sense.  
Her mind was slowly returning to her hotel room, she was slowly waking up. It was dreadful. Her head felt like a bomb about to explode. There was so much pressure, it just wasn't exploding. She groaned. Sure, it wouldn't be pretty but the pain would have stopped at least.

The others in the room looked over at the bed where Tea was sleeping. Well, that was putting it lightly. It wasn't so much sleeping as it was her tossing and turning. Not to mention she was rather pale.

No one knew what had happened when they found her. She was bracing herself up against the wall of the hotel looking like she had seen a ghost; she looked terrified.  
What had just happened to make her so afraid?  
Ishizu had called up to them about thirty minutes after Tea left saying she wasn't safe. She didn't go in to detail, instead she muttered something about how she was an idiot for leaving the girl in the first place. She abruptly hung up the phone.  
Well, naturally they had left to go and find her. And now they were here.

"Ishizu, what did you see?" Yugi had asked politely. Atemu had been less... kind.. when she had first shown up. If she had stayed with Tea this might not have happened. Because _something_ had definitely happened.

"The images are still a bit of a blur, but I knew something was coming for her so I had sent her back to you, thinking she'd be safe but-"  
"but she wasn't," Atemu snuck in.  
"Indeed."  
Yugi sensed the Pharaoh's frustration, he was frustrated too, but they still didn't know what even occurred.

"Guys, I'm ok. Really."

"Tea? How are you feeling?"  
Yugi rushed over to the bedside as soon as she spoke, ready to help her with anything.  
"I have a headache, but that's it," she locked eyes with the Egyptian man still standing at the foot of her bed, his eyes hard and focused, "I promise."

"Tea, I do apologize. I did not mean for this to happen."  
She smiled at Ishizu and said it was fine, that _she_ was fine.  
"But..." Tea's eyes turned downcast, should she tell them? After all, the man in the elevator didn't actually harm her. She had done this to herself. What with the dreams and her fear. She must have had a panic attack or something. The idea seemed pretty ridiculous to her now. There was nothing to panic over. It was just... something she thought he said. She could have sworn he said something about the Pharaoh. But that was crazy. Right?

"But?" Yugi pressed on.  
Tea caved. If there was a chance... no matter how slim or how crazy she would sound, if there was a chance that by keeping this a secret could put them in danger...  
"On the way up, on the elevator was a man and he just said... it seemed like he knew about you, Pharaoh."

What?

"And it just freaked me out and I guess I just had some kind of panic attack-"  
"Tea, you are not one to pass out like that. You are strong of mind and will. What are you not telling us?" Atemu cut her off. He knew she wasn't telling them everything. She had been odd since before they arrived in Egypt.  
She didn't know whether to laugh or blush at his blatant compliment of her supposed strength.

"I just haven't been feeling well lately. That's all." She certainly couldn't tell them about her dreams. What would they think? Hell... she didn't even know what to make of them.

He raised a brow, not fully believing, but he'd let it rest. For now.  
Just then there was a knock on the door. No doubt it was Joey and Tristan. They didn't know about the current predicament, and Tea decided too many people were already making a fuss over her well-being. So, with that in mind she got herself out bed (albeit a little unsteady at first) and made her way to the bathroom. She needed some painkillers to kill this headache.

Yugi got the door.  
"Hey, what's takin' you guys so long in here? I already ate and everything!" Joey announced as he walked in. Tristan followed.  
"Hehe... sorry guys. We're almost ready!" Tea came out of the bathroom, big smile planted on her face.  
Hopefully the rest of them would act normally too.  
Ishizu walked out of the room stating she would have everything ready to go when they finished up.  
Yugi and his Yami looked at each other for a moment. Neither of them thought Tea should be going anywhere, not in her current state, but at least this way they would always have an eye on her.  
Atemu sighed. There was no helping it, really. And the more he thought about their destination the more anxious he got.  
He didn't know what awaited them there at the dig site and he didn't know if that thrilled him, or scared him. But this was somehow connected to him being here, in the world of the living, so he had to go.

It only took them about five minutes to gather everything and make it down to the lobby. Ishizu had their ride ready. It wasn't their limo from yesterday but rather two new jeeps. Marik driving one and Odion the other.  
Ishizu took them to their vehicles and in no time they were off to the ruins.

"Welcome back, miss Ishtar." A local man who was familiar with the dig site came and greeted the group.  
"Thank you."

Odion lead the way down several pathways, deep in to a crater where this ruin laid buried. Yugi, Joey and Tristan all looked rather excited. After all, it wasn't everyday they got to, possibly, discover something.  
Tea, the entire ride just had this sinking feeling. She dreaded this place. She had no reason for it, she'd never been here before, so why was it she wanted to run back to the hotel? Heck, just out of this freakin' crater.

Atemu's face was emotionless as the group made their descent. Marik eyed him closely the entire way. He, too was worried about what they might find beyond the entrance of this ruin.  
"And here we are" Odion stopped and raised his arm, showing them the large doors, upon which the all too familiar millennium eye stared down at all of them.  
"It's kinda creepy..." Joey muttered earning a jab from Yugi's elbow.  
Atemu just stared, transfixed. He walked up to the doors, hand outstretched.

Tea watched as he touched the stone entrance with his hand, like he had never felt something like this before in his life. He was mesmerized .  
"I thing I've... seen this before. I don't know... where."  
His puzzle glowed a dazzling gold and white and the eye on the door seemed to react to it. It too glowed brightly and a loud scraping could be heard.  
The light dimmed and the doors came loose, dust and sand disturbed.  
Everyone covered their eyes, and when the dust settled the doors were fully opened.

"I'm never gonna get used to that." Tristen stated. The rest of them nodded in agreement, save the Egyptians.

"I knew it." The elder Egyptian sibling made her way to stand beside her king, looking in to the ruin.  
It was a small chamber with a staircase leading down.  
Atemu walked in first and looked around, the rest of the team followed.  
The room they were in was remarkably bare. No design, so hieroglyphs of any kind. Even so, Atemu claimed this was a tomb. He just didn't know for whom.

Tea walked in last and coughed a bit at the stagnant air and the last little bit of unsettled dust. She felt scared. Scratch that, she was downright terrified. She was shaking all over, unable to to even move.

"Tea?" Marik had called out to her, noticing her distress. She didn't seem to hear him. All she could do was shake and think about how she did not want to be here. She didn't even know why. But she could feel this fear down to her very bones.  
Then a terrible sadness tore through her being. Her eyes started watering and before she knew it she was full on sobbing.  
She fell to her knees, scared, sad and confused. What the hell was happening to her? She was losing it. She could practically feel her mind ripping itself apart.

"Tea!"

I golden eye appeared in her vision and her all of her emotions died down to a mere whisper of what they just were.  
For that she was grateful. She felt like herself again. Mostly.

Atemu rushed over immediately when Tea fell, steadying her. Something was going on. Just entering a room, no matter how ancient it may be, should not bring one to the brink of madness. He could feel her mind trying to figure out and sort all these intense emotions at once, not knowing where it came from. He didn't even know. But he could help her; he could calm her down.

"Tea? What the hell was that!" Tea looked over to her blonde friend, eyes still partially glazed over. "I don't... know exactly. I just-"  
She stopped to steady her breath.  
"I don't think I'm going to go down with you guys. I'll wait outside. ok?"  
"I think it's for the best. I will stay with her for the time being." Odion walked to her and took her out of the Pharaoh's grasp.  
"Tea, do you want me to stay-?" "No, Yugi. Go help the Pharaoh. I'll be ok." She smiled weakly at her best friend.  
Said Pharaoh looked over her with worry. He quickly debated on staying, calling this all off until tomorrow, but she was with Odion.  
His curiosity won out. He needed to know why he was here, who's tomb this was. And he had a feeling that whatever he was about to find would eventually help the girl who is his friend.  
He felt the very strong urge to protect Tea just then. She looked so frail, so exhausted. He'd get to the bottom of this. He knew it.

* * *

So, er... hey guys. I uploaded a new chapter...? Don't kill me...? Hehe...


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